With the coronavirus stats going in the right direction, all of us at C&G Newspapers look forward to resuming publication of the St. Clair Shores Sentinel and Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle on May 27th. All other C&G newspapers will begin publishing on June 10th (Advertiser-Times on June 24th). In the meantime, continue to find local news on our website and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

Attention Readers: Find Us in Your Mailbox Soon

With the coronavirus stats going in the right direction, all of us at C&G Newspapers look forward to resuming publication of the St. Clair Shores Sentinel and Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle on May 27th. All other C&G newspapers will begin publishing on June 10th (Advertiser-Times on June 24th). In the meantime, continue to find local news on our website and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

Berkley DDA receives accreditation from National Main Street Program

BERKLEY — The Berkley Downtown Development Authority had reason to be happy on Monday, June 3, as it was presented with a certificate of accreditation as a National Main Street Program.

The Berkley DDA was presented with the accreditation by Main Street Oakland County at the most recent City Council meeting.

The DDA first applied to be a part of Main Street Oakland County in early 2018 and was eventually accepted in April of that same year. The DDA has been working to become a fully accredited program with the National Main Street Center for the past year, which is what it received at the meeting.

DDA Executive Director Vivian Carmody said it does benefit a city to become a designated Main Street community.

“It’s just an incredibly effective downtown revitalization program,” she said.

“When you become a part of Main Street Oakland County and the National Main Street Program, there’s a lot of benefits we receive. We get technical expertise; we get free training; we get the ability to work alongside the other Main Street communities, access to conference materials and things like that,” Carmody continued.

Carmody said the DDA receives $6,500 in technical expertise per year.

“Through Main Street Oakland County, we can bring in experts for our businesses,” she said. “This year, we’re actually planning on working with Main Street Oakland County to bring in later this summer somebody to work with our restaurants … a consultant who can come in and work with restaurants who choose to participate.”

Mayor Dan Terbrack said he knows the accreditation is something that the DDA worked hard for, and he gave thanks to those who were able to secure it.

“It’s something I know you guys are all proud of, and we at the city are also proud of the work that you’ve done in the recognition that you’ve received,” he said. “I want to thank everybody who came, too, on behalf of Main Street Oakland County to also be here to congratulate you guys for the wonderful work that you’re doing.”

John Bry, a principal planner and program coordinator for Main Street Oakland County, talked about Berkley’s year in the Main Street Oakland County program, and said Main Street Oakland County is excited to see some of the progress that has been made.

“For those of you not familiar, there are 25 ... communities in Main Street Oakland County; 13 of them are select level — which is our highest level — including Berkley, and there are 1,800 Main Street programs across the United States, so you’re in good company,” he said.